


The Policewoman and the Rat

by FabulousosityRings, LunaLeDragonet



Series: Rings' Ramsival Series [1]
Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: And a cowgirl, Canon Asexual Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Did i mention Ramsival, Disclaimer: UNPOLISHED, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I wanted to make a Ramsival fanfic so i decided why not, I will add tags & chars as the fic goes, I'm Bad At Summaries, I've given Percy a backstory, M/M, Meryl also may or may not be crushing on a certain police officer, Meryl may or may not be bi, Multi, Non-Canon Relationship, Oh and there may be some death, Other, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Police love triangle oh no, Ramsival - Freeform, Ramsival is fucking cute, References to many streamers & youtubers, There's probably gonna be references to Mass Effect since i'm obsessed with it, This is my first fic I've actually put on the internet, You know there's gonna be cuddling, buddy cop, dont worry Percy is autistic here tho, go easy on me pls, help me, i don't know what to tag, i have a reason tho, im not gonna classify Percy as canon autistic, its bc Brendan never said she is but the way she acts does have a autistic feel to it, trust me - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:21:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28433094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FabulousosityRings/pseuds/FabulousosityRings, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaLeDragonet/pseuds/LunaLeDragonet
Summary: Ramsey and Percy's buddy cop turns into love, with some outside conflict. Its's Ramsival what do you expect?
Relationships: Meryl Lockhart & Zora Salazar, Meryl Lockhart/Zora Salazar, Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage, Molly Blyndeff & Percival "Percy" King, Molly Blyndeff & Ramsey Murdoch, Percival "Percy" King/Meryl Lockhart/Ramsey Murdoch, Percival "Percy" King/Ramsey Murdoch, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling/Molly Blyndeff, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling/Original Character(s), Zora Salazar/Original Character(s)
Series: Rings' Ramsival Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147769
Comments: 12
Kudos: 18





	1. A Start

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Past the Surface](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24365749) by [BringOnThe_Snyazzy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BringOnThe_Snyazzy/pseuds/BringOnThe_Snyazzy). 



> Ok, listen this is HEAVILY inspired by BringOnThe_Snyazzy's Great at Cop series. If you haven't read it what are you doing here, reading the work of a pleb and not of the god himself? Also, I may be slow to upload if you actually like my work, it's kinda hard being a lazy teenager with a bad attention span but I will add more to it when I can. Also If Percy is a little monotone for you it's only the beginning and she will be a lot happier soon enough. Finally, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing
> 
> If you want to get into contact with me for whatever reason you can find me here on Twitter: FabulouslosityRings (Twitter's my home) and here on Discord: Rings#5698  
> You never know someone might want to talk... *Sweats in social awkwardness*

Ramsey laid still on the cot, it was a little crusty and was very uncomfortable. His mind was exploring the endless possibilities of what would happen to him. At the time the offer in Redwood seemed like the best option. His only option… But Ramsey honestly didn’t know now, he enjoyed helping Percy but the police? He wasn’t so sure, not everyone in the world was like her. A clueless little policewoman who was surprisingly cute… Though Ramsey didn’t exactly like saying that, it got him flustered. “Welp! That’s what I get for helping a cop I guess…” Ramsey thought aloud, “Too bad too…" Ramsey sighed, "Was startin’ to like her.”

“Like who?”

Ramsey jumped and almost fell out of his cot. It was Percy. Just Percy. What was she doing here? “Oh, Percy…” Ramsey paused and his mind wandered elsewhere, he finally sat up in his cot, “You scared the shit outta me!”

“I apologize, I did not intend to frighten you.” Her face, void of emotion, stared at him apologetically. She really meant it, but her face didn’t seem like it cared. That’s Percy for you.

“It’s fine. Just surprised me is all.” Ramsey stared at the floor and exhaled “Percy?” Ramsey paused and looked up back at the detective “What the hell are you even doing here?”

“I am in need of your appraisal skills for a forgery case. I hope I didn't interrupt anything.”

Ramsey stood up from his cot and slowly walked to the bars of his cell “‘Of course ya do...” Ramsey said with a sly smile “And here I was thinking you came to just see how I was doing…” Ramsey chuckled “And you didn’t. It’s fine.” he paused and they looked at each other for a moment. An awkward silence. “Well? I can’t appraise anything while I’m stuck in my cell, Officer.” Ramsey pointed out.

“Oh yes. Of course.” Percy seemed to have been lost in thought. It didn’t strike Ramsey as odd, Percy was always thinking. She took her keychain off her waist and fumbled around with it by the keyhole, trying to find the right key.

Ramsey thought some small talk might help, “So how ya doin’ doll? Fourth key’s to your cuffs. Fifth’s the door… maybe...”

“Oh sorry. I apologize for the inconvenience. Just a little sleep-deprived.” Percy tried the fifth key, and it didn’t work.

“Yeah yeah, it’s alright. I got all the time in the world. So could you answer my first question, how ya doin’?” Ramsey decided to leave the doll part out that time, to ensure no further embarrassment came.

“Why do you wish to know?” Percy looked up from her keys suspiciously.

“I just want to know!” Ramsey threw his hands in the air in defense “Can’t a rat-man be curious? By the way, do I get a change of clothes? This jumpsuit is pretty itchy.” He says with a sheepish smile.

“I’m afraid not. I asked but-”

“Don’t you worry Ramsey… I got you some new clothes.” A new rather deep voice rang from further down the catwalk. It wasn’t that pink guy though, lot less smooth. “Out of my own pocket too, so you kinda owe me now. More than you do already.” Then Ramsey heard the man chuckle, he knew exactly who he was from that stupid childish chuckle. The man stepped next to Percy, holding a neatly folded pair of tan cargo shorts, which Ramsey thought was perfect, a bland red T-shirt, some boxers, and a pair of black tennis shoes.

“Thanks, Floyd.” Ramsey smiled, baring his teeth.

“Welcome mate, and please never call me Floyd. You know I prefer Oscar..”

Before any further conflict Percy butted in “You two know each other?”

Oscar didn’t seem to notice her question for a second- or maybe he did- Ramsey didn’t know.

“What? Oh…?” He was on his phone, texting someone with orange hair, Ramsey could barely see the picture through the bars, “Uh, yeah I was the only friend he had in Art School and College, and we occasionally worked together on commissions. It’s… sad to see him here again, but he always was a rat!” Oscar laughed, thinking his bad pun was funny. Which expectedly flew directly over Percy’s head… And Ramsey was not very amused.

“Yeah... So can I have my clothes please now?”

“Oh, sure yeah. Here.” Oscar handed Ramsey his neatly folded clothes through the bars of his cell.

“Could I have some privacy maybe?”

Oscar’s eyes widened and ran off. Ramsey and Percy stared at him as he ran down the catwalk. Wait. Percy. She’s still here.

“Uh, Percy?”

“Hmm?”

“Could I have some privacy please?” he gestures towards the folded clothes.

“Oh yes. I apologize...” Percy turns to her right and leaves, her face more pink than usual. Little cutie, Ramsey thought to himself. It was a surprise to be sure but somewhat of a welcome one.****

Percy waited by the next cell as Ramsey got dressed, her head in her hands. “Darn it…” Percy whispered to herself “That was a little embarrassing.” Percy's thoughts were interrupted by Ramsey as he bounded through his cell door, struggling to get his t-shirt on as he almost fell off the railing of the catwalk, but Percy managed to grab the hem of his shirt and pull him back up, and Ramsey finally got his shirt on. Percy asked without hesitation “Are you alright?”

“Yeah... ” Ramsey exhaled “Yeah. I am… Tha-Thanks for asking.” He crouched down a bit and put his hands on his knees, gasping for air. He eventually sat down completely. Percy felt the need to comfort him, but it wasn’t enough to crack her shell. So she just helped him to his feet.

Oscar had seen the scene and had run back to the duo. “The hell happened here?”

“Ramsey almost fell off the railing. I caught him before he did, he’s not hurt, just a little anxious is all.”

Ramsey butts in with his arms flailing in the air. “The only reason I almost fell off was because he got me the wrong size! This shirt’s too damn small“ Ramsey fidgeted with the hem of his shirt to get rid of some of the wrinkles that had bubbled up.

“Sorry! Didn’t know your size changed.”

“COLLEGE WAS 13 YEARS AGO! I’m 34 now, my size has obviously changed!”

“In my defense... You look pretty much the same to me mate. Maybe just a bit taller. Look, how about I buy you a drawing tablet after this? Fair?”

“I guess… Wait.” Ramsey raised his eyebrow “Are you even allowed to do that?”

Oscar shrugged. “Let’s just go. Percy? Take your cruiser & Ramsey and I’ll meet you there. Uh, grab some breakfast or something, you two seem to need it. See you guys later.” He waves and jogs off.

Percy had never really interacted much with Oscar, he was just too childish to be around in a professional environment. She stood in thought, _Breakfast? I don’t need breakfast... I already had mine. Wait… Ramsey..._

A tap on her left shoulder startled her, “Perce?” Just Ramsey.

“Oh... What? Sorry lost in thought. Let’s just go, we have work to do.”

“And apparently some pancakes,” Ramsey mumbled as they walked off.

Percy opens the driver's side door to her car and climbed in. She was surprised to see Ramsey already in the passenger seat smiling a shit-eating grin at her. “What?” she asked as she raised her eyebrow. “Why are you smiling?”

Ramsey smile straightened, “Oh no reason in particular.” Ramsey relaxed into the seat. “Just thought you’d have a different reaction. You know, to a convict taking the passenger seat and not the back.” Percy doesn’t really know what to think of Ramsey. She sat there staring at the steering wheel, tapping on the wheel in rhythm with her mind's thoughts. “Well…” She glanced up at Ramsey “You could say I trust you, Ramsey.”

***

Wait. Trust. Did Ramsey hear that right? Ramsey looked away from her, and at the hood of the car. They were still in the parking lot. “B-But I’m Ramsey Murdoch! The rat-faced conman. A Perpetrator. Of. The. Law… You know? The thing you and your cop buddies uphold and everything, the only other thing you hold dear to your heart other than the safety of innocents! I’m a damn criminal. I’m a bad person...” Ramsey looks back at her and she stares back at him with those damn blue eyes, she just stares at him… But he can tell she’s lost in thought. Her short blonde hair was beautiful too... ' _I-What…? No I- She’s a cop, yeah she’s just a cop… I could never be friends with a cop! Well maybe I could… Still a cop… well, a cop that looks like a damn gorgeous elf. Ah… Damn it all…!_ Ramsey pushed that thought away and buries it under thoughts of art, that stupid cot, and unfortunately... elves. He couldn’t get anyway.

“Ramsey. I trust you because you helped me in Redwood. You saved my life. You are a criminal yes, but you are also Ramsey. A person that can be redeemed. Is that not what you are trying to achieve right now?” Her expressionless face awaited an answer.

“W-Well yeah… I am... Who else could be this beautiful?”

“So you are just another human being, and humans make mistakes. Let’s go.” She backed up out of the parking lot and stopped at the exit, looking if any cars were passing.

“Yeah, a lot of mistakes…” Ramsey mumbles to himself “No cars left...” After pulling out onto the busy street Ramsey pressed further into the seat.

Ramsey noticed Percy was looking a bit... tense.

”Uh, Percy?” She gave Ramsey a nod “Good... Gotta keep your eyes on the road… Yeah. So we don’t... uh... crash.” She nodded again, “Well, I think Oscar’s idea was pretty good. How’s breakfast sound? I know a good cafe just across town, and I know the owner too. Shouldn't be too busy.”

“Where is this cafe?”

“Down 25th and left on 16th...”

“Apolo’s?”

“Uh, yeah…?” Ramsey slowly replies. “You know it too?” Percy nods and slowly takes a right to turn down 25th Avenue, but as she does Ramsey grasps the safety handle on the roof of the car and tenses up. Teeth clenched. Ramsey calms down and lowers his arm, he glances to check if Percy saw his little episode. She sat motionless eyeing the road. If she did, she didn’t acknowledge it. Ramsey hated being in cars…

***

Percy paid for Ramsey’s pancakes and her salad at the front counter. She led him into a booth in a corner and they sat down. They ate in silence. Until Percy asked what had happened in the car. “Uh… Nothing… Nothing at all, just you know...I-Uhhh…. Fell… Yeah, I fell mhmm...” Percy looked up from her salad with a small smile.

“Lying to an officer is against the law Ramsey.” Percy sighed and looked down at her salad picking at the leaves. She wasn’t hungry, she had already eaten. “Had bad experiences with cars, I take it?”

“You got me, Officer…” Ramsey says with his arms playfully set in the air in surrender.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really...”

Ramsey looked away and out the window. He exhaled and went back to eating his pancakes. Percy never got to eat her salad; she only thought about Ramsey.

“Well if you want to talk about it just tell me.”

Ramsey stops eating. “Thanks...”

Percy smiles “Your welcome.”

*15 minutes later*

Percy and Ramsey arrived at the Sweet Jazz Art Gallery. She admired the building's beauty. She smiled and starting stimming with a cute little sound. She noticed Ramsey had heard her and stared at her with his lazy smile which caused her to stop. He seemed a bit confused. “I apologize. Architecture gives me…” She stared at the floor and then back up at Ramsey “Happiness.”

“Don’t worry doll. I’m the same with art, and it was good seeing you… happy about something.” Ramsey then nodded towards another police cruiser. Standing next to it was Oscar, talking to another officer. “Although it is nice to see this side of you.” Ramsey says with a wink “Let’s see what Oscar wants.” Percy and Ramsey made their way to Oscar’s car. Oscar turned around when he heard their footsteps. His stubble seemed to be more black than before. ”Hey there.” He crosses his arms and nods at Percy “Miss fuzz.”

“Detective Oscar,” Percy says standing still and emotionless.

“Senior.... Detective.” Oscar points at Percy and smiles. He then walks to his cruiser's door, opens it, and starts rummaging through his console. “Just give me one minute, gotta find something.”

Ramsey leans into Percy’s ear “Wait… He’s your boss? How?”

“Not technically, he is only my superior, but I do sometimes wonder that myself. However, it is rude to insult someone, especially a police officer.”

“Yeah well, he needs to be less of a child.” Ramsey leaned to his right a bit to see inside the car. “Is that McDonalds?”

Oscar closed the door and walked towards the duo with some files in one hand and a cup of soda in the other “Found it.” Oscar almost slips when he steps on a piece of paper. “WOAH” but he barely regain his balance. Percy and Ramsey glanced at each other each with a confused look.

“Okay =3”

Oscar took a sip out of his drink as if nothing happened “Uh. Shall we go inside?” Percy nods while Ramsey just shrugs “You two should follow me in, I can tell Ramsey the situation.” Oscar turns towards the stairs with a smile “Up the stairs we go!” Oscar says gleefully.

The trio started to walk up the stairs, Oscar ahead of Percy and Ramsey sipping on his drink, not doing what he said he would. Percy glances at Ramsey, his hands in his shorts, and his posture lazy & incorrect. He’s gonna wear out his back soon. Percy stared at Ramsey’s rat face. _Ramsey is getting better. He’s finally learning the error of his criminal ways… Perhaps he can be a friend_. Percy stares at the ground wondering if she should ask him, she’s never really done this before. The only other people she could call friends were Meryl, Oscar, and Eros, but she barely knew Ramsey and they seemed to already have a connection. Percy looked up at Ramsey “Ramsey. Could I ask you a question?”

“Uh sure. Go right ahead.”

“Would you like to be my friend? I don’t have many friends to begin with, and I don’t interact with my coworkers much unless it’s on a case.”

Percy notices a small sliver of red appear on Ramsey’s face “Are you alright?”

“Yeah yeah. I’m fine.” Ramsey waves her off “Weird question to just ask though...”

“I apologize, but I don’t have very good social skills.”

“Well as your friend I can help with that,” Ramsey says with a wink.

“Are you accepting my offer of friendship?” Percy says in a serious tone.

“You know Perce… That’s usually not- Actually never mind... I am.”

***

Ramsey wasn’t sure what had just happened. Apparently, he just became friends with a cop, and a socially awkward cop, and a possibly autistic cop given her behavior. That cop is Percy, but still… She’s a cop, and Ramsey’s a criminal or ex-criminal… Perhaps she’s not as straight-laced as he once thought. As the duo entered through the glass double doors, both Ramsey and Percy gasped. Percy at the architecture and Ramsey at the art. Although Ramsey didn’t recognize at least half of the paintings.

As Percy stood admiring a marble column, Ramsey went to check some of the paintings closest to the entrance. One, in particular, caught his eye... The label read ‘After the Prom’ by Norman Rockwell. It was a stereotypical 50’s diner, it held a scene of 2 teens in formal wear, a policeman in brown, and a cook. He’d seen this same painting back at his Art School. He’d even painted it once too, to almost the exact likeness for an assignment. It caught his eye because there was… a problem with it. The red of the stools weren’t the right shade, it was darker and the blonde of the girl looked closer to Percy’s golden blonde than the original. The shading was off as well and the brown of the policeman's uniform wasn’t the right color either, it was more of a tan than anything.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?” Oscar almost startled Ramsey, but he had gotten used to that almost 13 years prior.

“Oscar. Do you have a list of the known forged art pieces?”

“Uh yeah… Give me a second.” Oscar rustled through the file, stopping at what looked like a sticky note. “Uh, only one… An original Picasso?" Oscar's face scrunched up. "I can’t read this! this is too small....” He glared at the note as if it just insulted him. Ramsey rolled his eyes and looked around.

Another painting had caught his eye. ‘The Murderer’s Lament’ by Daniel Stane, a not very well known artist but still known for his dark mind and humor. It was fake to be sure. Ramsey checks the more well-known artists' work nearby. An original ‘Starry Night’, 3 Picassos, 6 original Van Gogh’s, and a Monet? There was more to be sure, but from where he was standing he could only see them… And they were all real. Ramsey was positive.

Ramsey checked the lesser-known artists. 2 more from Stane, 1 from Lucas Patatinini, 1 from Patricia Hallingway, and 2 from Leonard D. Frauss. He took out his phone and went to Doodle; a site he uses for his appraisal work and looked up every painting. They were all fake and poorly forged as well. As far as Ramsey knew every famous painting in this gallery was real, except that one Picasso… And every lesser-known painting was fake. There were probably more than 100 paintings missing and the police didn’t even know about it. An amateur plan to be sure, but could work brilliantly given how smart the owner was. This was gonna be a long case…


	2. The Deeper it Goes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot thickens and- Uh oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was lazy and so it's rather short, but I also needed it kinda short but not THAT short. Sorry how short it is, I'm disappointed myself. Also, it feels very off to me and I've tried to fix it but alas... And lastly, I don't write suspense well...

Percy was still admiring the columns when Ramsey took a hold of her arm and starting leading her further into the gallery. “Ramsey? What are you doing?”

“I found something.”

“What?”

“You’ll see.” Percy didn’t answer and let Ramsey lead her. He stopped in front of a painting and pointed, “What do you see?” It was a painting, a painting of the face of a bloody man in distress. “That’s the ‘Murderer's Lament’ and it’s a fake.” Percy was a little confused, of course, Ramsey didn’t know how many paintings were possible fakes since Percy had forgotten to tell him and Oscar had just never really brought it up. Percy did trust Ramsey’s skill but she did want to know more details, “Fake? What do you mea-” And that’s when Oscar butted in,

“Nah Rams’ it shouldn’t be fake and it doesn’t look fake to me.” Ramsey just sighed and slapped Oscar. Usually, he would’ve been put in handcuffs after that but there were only two officers currently inside the gallery, two who knew and trusted him.

“Whoever owns this gallery is a moron, the one or two, or how many paintings were flagged as possibly forged are not the only fakes. I’m positive every painting painted by someone who is not very well known is fake. That one confirmed Picasso is somewhat of a decoy, or maybe it isn't, maybe the forgers just got greedy but we still have a big problem anyway. Whoever stole these paintings are somewhat smart, probably cocky, and not afraid to get caught. Also, they may have gotten help from the inside, I have no proof but I just have a feeling.” Ramsy finished up his explanation. Percy seemed to understand with only a nod, while Oscar seemed to be just a tad bit confused. Ramsey was about to say something but Oscar simply shrugged and walked off while saying,

“Well done. I’m stupid. I’m going to go tell Eros.” Ramsey and Percy just looked at each other, both with a bit of concern in their expressions. Then that’s when something hit him, he knew the layout of the building, he and Percy could possibly find some clues.

“Heya Percy, you want to go look around? The thieves could’ve left something behind...”

“Good idea, I don’t think the officers first on the scene searched the entire building, careless of them, but we may find something.”

“Alright then, but where should we go?”

Percy thought for a moment, “How about the staff’s lounge?”

“Alright, good enough for me...” A few minutes later the duo had arrived at the lounge, Percy didn’t find anything useful and all Ramsey found was a few bucks inside the sofa. Then he just felt wrong. Ramsey had the urge to go out the side door and check the dumpster. He did but not before telling Percy so it didn’t look like he was running. Outside there were two dumpsters quite full, everything seemed normal, completely normal, but something caught Ramsey’s eye. It was a trash bag that seemed to have fallen out of the dumpster, the bag seemed normal and looked normal except for the tennis shoe poking out the side. Ramsey starting opening it and the smell was subtle but horrid enough that it caused Ramsey to close his eyes. Then he opened them again…and he saw the dead body of a security guard. Ramsey was rightfully shocked, he had never seen a corpse before. The forgers weren’t just thieves, they were murderers too. Ramsey knew he had to tell Percy, “Percy? You need to see this!”

Percy walked out and down the small staircase. “Yes, Ramsey what is it- Egads!” Percy gasped. “We need to report this in,”

“Yeah. Yeah, we do.”

***

Percy was distressed. Ramsey and Percy were in front of the gallery again, they had met up with Oscar who didn’t like what he was told. He reported it to Eros who sent another detective to assist. Forensics had already arrived and it wasn’t long before the detective did too. A black car pulled onto the sidewalk and a man in a brown jacket stepped out, he had wavy black hair, a kempt beard, and a serious look to him. He walked up to the trio and shook hands with Ramsey “Homicide Detective Elliot Mason, and you’re Ramsey, our criminal appraiser?”

“Uh yep. I am he.” Mason looked at Ramsey with an eyebrow raised. Percy felt a little bad for Ramsey, she could see he was intimidated by him.

“Well… It’s good to meet you.” Mason released Ramsey’s hand and turns to the other two detectives, “You guys know the name of the vic?” Oscar replies first much to Percy’s surprise.

“No, we do not, we haven’t talked to forensics yet.”

“Greeatt…” Mason pinched his nose and paused for a moment “Detective King, Murdock. You still have your investigation, I’ll be needing Detective Floyd for the time being, but I cannot have you here right now, it’s just personal preference don’t worry. I do want you to check an art shop nearby though, they’ve had an influx of customers recently and our perp may be one of them. It’s called Paints & Arts or something.”

“Hmm… It seems like our only lead. Very well, we will check this Paints & Arts. Come on Ramsey.” Percy walked towards her cruiser as Ramsey followed. Percy opened her door, Ramsey opened his, and they entered at almost the exact same time. Percy started the cruiser and backed out onto the street.

“I know where Paints & Arts is, it’s not far. It’s down on 96th.“

“Thank you, Ramsey.”

The ride was pretty quiet, until Ramsey broke the silence, “Hey Percy, uh…” He paused to think “You know… uh… I kinda want to talk about my problem with cars... I feel a lot more comfortable now, well as comfortable as I can be in a car.” Percy thought it was a bit abrupt but she was genuinely happy to hear him say it.

“Sure!” Percy says as she turns onto 96th Street.

“Well let’s just say I’ve had some… minor accidents when I was younger. Some of my teeth I actually lost in those accidents.” Ramsey rolled his window down.

“I see,” Percy says as the traffic light in front of them turned yellow.

“Yeah, it wasn’t fun.” The light turned red and the car stopped. Percy could see some pedestrians walking by, she smiled as she spoke again,

“Ramsey I want you to know you’re safe here.” The light turned green again and the car started moving again.

“I’m here for y-” but she was stopped mid-sentence by something hitting Ramsey’s side of the car. Percy’s head hit the top of her car as it flew into the civilians she just saw. Then... her vision went black.

***

Ramsey was conscious through the entire crash. He had somehow been laid out on the sidewalk and it wasn’t pleasant, he could barely see but he did see a skinny man in a white suit approach him. He could barely hear him say, “Too much collateral damage, I didn’t intend for there to be any civilian injuries... God help them.” The man seemed to be talking to himself, “That man's pay is being reduced, and he called himself a professional.” The man scoffed, he knelt down closer to Ramsey’s face, “And you Ramsey will be a joy to torture.” The man’s voice scaled the entire spectrum, it was high, it was low, it was insane… and then Ramsey’s vision dissipated into nothing.


	3. The kidnapping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh no...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one? Hope it's good. Well I know it'll be better than the last

Ramsey couldn’t see, he couldn’t realize why, but he quickly found out when he opened his eye... He was laying in a dark room, he couldn’t see much other than the small circle of light from one hanging lamp. Percy was next to him and she slept peacefully, but something was wrong. She had no injuries, and neither did he. Ramsey tried to wake her and after a few attempts her eyes slowly opened, the blue pupils stared back at Ramsey's dark hazel. “Perce!“ Ramsey scooted closer to her, as he does Ramsey notices Percy has eraser cuffs on… but he doesn’t. 

“Ramsey? What’s going on...” Percy says groggily. 

“I don’t know. We could be in a basement or something…? Or or... I… I don’t know… I have no idea where we are.” Ramsey panicked but everything stopped when footsteps on marble rang far in front of them. They seemed to be dress shoes from the clang. A short maniacal laugh came from the shadows and Ramsey noticed a small glint in the dark. 

“The Detective and the Rat… Got themselves capped!” 

With a grunt, Percy screamed at the man “Who are you? Are you the one that stole the artwork, or killed the guard!” 

A scoff and more footsteps. A skinny, lanky man in a white suit came out of the dark. His face barely out of view. “I haven’t stolen a thing. I am simply… A hired accomplice… and no I didn’t kill that guard, I wasn't even there. I have been hired to... get rid of you two. Tie up any loose ends, any snoops, you understand?” His voice kept getting higher and higher with every sentence. He finally inhaled for once, a deep one. The voice that came out, surprised Ramsey. Calmer, not as crazy, and a lot deeper. “So I had that crash set up. I didn’t pay the guy to hurt any of those bystanders, but I’ll take full responsibility for his actions… And his pay has been reduced don’t worry,” Then the man kneeled in front of Ramsey. Ramsey’s eyes widened and his face went pale. The face Ramsey saw shook him, he knew who this man was. 

The face was narrow and gaunt like the man hadn’t eaten in weeks. He had stubble patched and peppered across his face. His brown hair was unkempt and matted. His gray eyes seemed to twitch instead of blink. Worst of all, was the smile, a huge grin, from cheek to cheek. It stayed in one place and almost never moved. He wasn’t sure who he was looking at until he saw the man’s ears. His left was completely gone and in its stead was a replica entirely made out of silver. A huge scar ran from his cheekbone all the way up to his right ear which had deep chips. This man was very dangerous. “Too bad I’m gonna have to kill you… After we’ve technically saved each other's lives. But…” He seemed to be thinking “I can bend the rules!” He scoffed at one of his own thoughts “My orders were to kill you and leave the detective alive...” The man got up real close to Ramsey’s ear much to Ramsey’s dismay. The man’s voice changed again as he whispered in Ramsey’s ear “But... That’s… Not fun at all… I wanna see you squirm... Like the rat you are...!” His voice gradually became louder as he went on, laughing and exhaling through his clenched teeth on each word. The man then backed away and walked towards Percy, he sat her up on her knees. He put his finger under her chin, and his voice changed again “So… I think… I’ll have my fun with the detective...” He ran his free hand over her cheek. His voice turned a bit formal and regal as he got louder “And Ramsey... I am fully aware you know you don’t have eraser cuffs on. You can use your epithet to save yourself. You will be impervious to my torturous ways. Think of it as... Another favor... I am repaying. You’ll live... while the detective dies, as I torture her… Just... To see you squirm. Ramsey, if you’ve forgotten what I can do here’s a friendly reminder.” The man took out a knife from his back pocket and sliced his hand, blood flew, and in seconds it grew back, leaving no scar, but in seconds it tore open again. “I’ll let that sink in.” The man said as he licked the blood off his hand. The man then walked off into the darkness. Ramsey was terrified, this man was not a joke nor an amateur, he knew what he was doing. The two were entirely at his mercy. 

“Ramsey… I have a feeling you know who that man is?” Ramsey was surprised Percy didn’t know who he was given the guy's reputation, well she didn’t have access to the criminal underworld but still... He was reputable.

“Ever heard of Silas Colt?” Percy shook her head no and Ramsey sighs as he continues, “He’s a hitman and gun for hire, well knife for hire I don't think he’s ever held a gun in his life. Problem is he’s known to torture his targets, and he enjoys it. He’s cynical, crazy, and unpredictable and I’ve seen him during torture sessions, they’re not fun.” Percy’s face tenses up, she seemed to be worried.

“I’m not in homicide, so that may be perhaps why I don’t recognize him.”

“Perce’ that’s the thing, he’s not really hired to kill. He’ll do it, but he is mostly hired because of he tortures people, and no matter how much he tortures someone they usually don’t die and that’s because of his epithet. They suffer a lot, and we probably will too.“ 

“He’s inscribed?”

Ramsey looked down worried “Yep,” but there was no response from Percy, so Ramsey looked back at her. She had fallen asleep. 

“Advil Ramsey, I drugged her. ” Silas had come back, he was standing over Ramsey, expressionless. 

“Bullshit, Advil doesn’t work that fast... ”

“True enough, you got me.” He held his hands up in defense “I didn’t use Advil precisely, I had a chemist brew a homemade sedative, quite illegal mind you… But quite effective. Let me tell you, Ramsey, I am aware you are quite a coward, but I’ve noticed you have gained a certain... fondness... for this… Miss Percival. So you have the choice, live and be free from me but not from the law I might add, or die trying to save...” Silas glanced at Percy and his smile narrowed out. “Her... I will allow you to run, but I will always be watching.” Silas looked away from Percy and at Ramsey “By the by, Rat-face. I’ve seen how you look at her. Some advice from an old…. Friend. She doesn’t love you. She doesn’t care for you. She is simply using you, and your lust got carried away into naivety. Maybe it’s not lust... more of a... longing…? To be with her? All she loves is the law, Ramsey. Nothing can keep her away from justice... And you are a criminal after all. So make the choice, will you? I’ll be back in about an hour, I hope you make the right one,” Silas walked off silently. 

Ramsey was left alone, with Percy sleeping soundly. The light from the lamp shone into his eye, nearly blinding him. Ramsey didn’t know what to do. He had less than 60 minutes to make a decision. He wanted to live, but he didn’t want to leave Percy. As Ramsey’s mind wandered he slowly succumbed to the allure of sleep deprivation. 

Ramsey’s eye opened, and he saw Silas sitting in a chair. His creepy smile was gone and his head was down. He looked like he was praying, but Ramsey knew he wasn’t. Colt's voice was calm but different from his more regal side, it sounded like he was actually calm. “Ramsey… I’m giving you another hour. I’ve... been thinking. I need a favor... Before anything... more happens between us.” Ramsey noticed Silas didn’t call him Rat...

“What-What do you want?”

“I...” His voice breaks “How can you still be human? While being a criminal... I’m a goddamn maniac, but I don’t want to be. I want to be human... or at least more than I am now. Insanity is a sure-fire way to hell. I’ve gotten so used to it I’ve lost my humanity and most of my emotions. I can’t love, I can’t feel anything other than pure insanity, I’m just crazy now. What little I have left, I’ve used to give you the chance you need to survive. I don’t want to do this Ramsey… I don’t want to kill you, or torture Percival, I don’t - I don’t want to do it, but my insanity eats me alive, my humanity! It’s already eaten basically all of it, leaving me soulless where the only thing that gives me joy is torture, but the little sliver that was left, allowed me to help you. I just want some help. Please... Please, Ramsey. I’ve already done too much damage, I don’t want to do anymore.” The Taiga man finally looked up at him, his face full of sorrow and guilt. Colt wasn’t crying but it looked like he could, which now was impossible. 

“I uh… Can’t really help you, Silas. Insanity is not a quick thing to fix. You need time to heal the wounds that gave you it… “ Wounds…? That would be a problem. “Silas... Your Epithet?” The guilty man nodded sorrowfully. “I’m- I’m sorry but I can’t help you. You’re a lost cause I’m sorry… I truly am.”

The man looked back at his feet in despair. His face went from sorrow to anguish as he stood up and struck the chair into the darkness with a loud yell. It’s back... Colt stomped over to Ramsey and gripped his face with both of his hands, bringing Ramsey into close eye contact with him. The man inhaled and exhaled through his clenched teeth. His guilt was squeezed from his eyes by anguish... But... he let go. His angry face turned narrow and he walked off without a word, and Ramsey laid there for minutes until he somehow fell back asleep. 

“Hey, Rat. Wake the fuck up.”

Ramsey groaned. A smack on his cheek quickly woke him up. 

“Ahhh! What you want mah?”

“I’m not your mother, Rat. Though I did kill her, much to your liking I might add.” 

“Eh, I don’t give a shit… Can I go back to sleep now...”

“No Rat... Have you made your decision yet?”

Ramsey froze. He had forgotten. 

“Um...”

“Heh... Look... Let’s take a compromise. I’m feeling a bit more generous. I’ll let you both go, no repercussions. Of course, I will be chasing you, and when I catch you, I’ll torture her... And Ramsey... You know she’ll feel a lotta pain before dying. If she dies.” His voice grew softer and softer as the threat neared the end. “Anyway, let's be off. Can’t have you cooped up in this basement all day can we… Percival’s already awake by the way, I've taped her mouth shut, she hasn’t said a word since. Good girrrrrl...” Silas then stood both Ramsey and Percy, took hold of their cuffs, and led them into the darkness. He was extremely strong for how skinny he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to make a morally ambiguous character, hope I did better than fucking Kylo Ren, but hey! It's only an introduction to Silas.


	4. The Start of Certain Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy starts to feel somethings she's never felt before...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make a longer post, but I've just playing modded Skyrim lately and haven't touched this in like 6 days. So I've decided to just post it now. I meant this to be like first chapter long, but I haven't been adding to it much and it's already taken a bit too long for my tastes. Sorry for how short it is....

Silas had taken them outside, it was already dark. Percy knew the neighborhood, it’s where she lived and her apartment was just down the street too. “Alright you two, I’m gonna leave you here. Where you go I don’t care, contact the police for all the shits I give, you won’t find me anyway.” Percy thought it would be considerably easy given Silas’ face, but Silas seems like a guy who knows exactly what he's doing. All she has to go off of is the word of Ramsey who seems pretty intimidated by him, “Listen I’m going to unlock Ramsey's first, he knows what I can do" Silas unlocked Ramsey's cuffs, and “And I’m giving you her key in case she tries anything. Your sword is at your residence, Detective. Oh and you are a strange one miss. Who carries almost 5 pounds of butter in their fridge?!“ Percy could only grunt, given the duct tape was still plastered over her mouth. 

“Soo… where you going?” Ramsey rocked on his heels as he puts his hands in his pocket, hopefully awaiting an answer. 

Silas glared at Ramsey with an upturned right brow, “Valerie's Sex Toy and Lingerie. Are you that ignorant Rat? I am not stupid. That might work on that Oscar guy, but not me. You should know that. Here you go rat,” And Silas threw Ramsey Percy's keychain. Ramsey caught it, glanced at it, and looked back at Silas, and Percy did the same. Silas was already leaving and vanished around an alley, but not before flashing a remorseful smile. 

Percy grunted through the tape, getting Ramsey's attention. "Oh sorry Perce, forgot about that," And with a quick rip, Ramsey peeled the tape off Percy's mouth. "Ah Percy, you alright?"

"Yes I am fine, thank you for asking Ramsey. Could you please unlock my eraser cuffs now?" Ramsey stepped behind Percy and unlocked the cuffs with a click. Percy was relieved when the cuffs came off, and she immediately began to rub her wrists. She did sleep with eraser cuffs on after all. Ramsey gave Percy the cuffs back when she stopped rubbing her sore wrists. "Thank you, Ramsey," Percy took the cuffs and attached them to her belt. "My residence is just down the road Ramsey, we can call for backup there."

"Backup? You're planning to go back out there at this time of day?"

"Yes Ramsey, I must do my duty as an officer of the law."

"You can do your duty after a good night's sleep, that special sleeping concoction still kinda has you knocked on your ass, I can tell. Come on I'll carry you home, never know when you might pass out."

"Thank you Ramsey but that is quite unnecessary-Oh!" Ramsey had already picked Percy up, his arms were warm and she melted into his chest. "Alright I guess you can carry me for a bit, until my stamina recharges a bit..." 

"Alright... Your place is just down the road right?"

"Yess... Near the... Post... Office" Percy had already starting dozing off. Ramsey was like a heater. 

"Just sleep Perce' you're safe in my arms and you'll be cozier at home." Percy thought his arms was a lot cozier than any little bed she slept in, all she wanted was to be held by Ramsey. Soon she had fallen asleep...

***

Ramsey didn't notice Percy had fallen asleep until he was about to ask her which house was hers. He quickly found out by which one had fewer decorations was a lot more drab & bleak. He fumbled with the keys to the door barely keeping hold of Percy. He unlocked Percy's door and closed it on the way in with his foot, gently to not wake Percy. Percy's house felt sterile, like half of the furniture was never used or touched. He hurried to find her bedroom and gently laid her in bed, tucked her in, and left her bedside. "You look so cute when you're sleeping" Ramsey whispered under his breath. Percy slept soundly in the white bed as Ramsey left the room. He immediately took a detour to the kitchen. He was pretty hungry, or how Percy would say, famished. There was nothing on the counters except lots of bread and a toaster, which made Ramsey a little worried. He checked the cabinets, nothing but a couple of bottles of cinnamon & glasses. Then the fridge, he slowly opened it. All there was about 5 pounds of butter, Ramsey was confused and agitated. He couldn't eat! Ramsey left the kitchen and laid on Percy's couch. He had no pillow or blanket but he was fine with it.

He grew to worry about Percy, she may not wake up knowing Silas' unpredictability. He stared blankly at the ceiling. Percy's already proven to be a handful.


	5. A Nice Nap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the next morning and the 2 may have to catch a ride from a certain someone, a someone who crashes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short I know, I keep planning on making longer posts but I always just end things quickly. But I at least got one of the BBs in, I plan on incorporating some kind of heist with them all, should be good. *Evil laugh*

Percy's eyes slowly opened and her white wallpaper shone into her pupils. For a second she couldn't remember how she got back into her house. She barely was able to get up from her bed, and she noticed she was still in her police uniform. Percy stumbled through her door, her eyes were still heavy as she dragged her feet through the hallway. Percy entered the living room and flipped the light switch, she didn't notice Ramsey laying on the couch until he stirred in his sleep. Percy didn't want to wake Ramsey so she turned the living room light off. She tip-toed to the kitchen and cut a slice off the loaf. Percy finished her slice of bread and noticed her phone on the counter. 5 missed messages and 2 missed calls from Meryl. 3 of the texts were from Meryl, and 2 were from Eros, both were asking where she was. Percy messaged them both back and put the phone back on the counter. "Heya, doll..." Percy jumped at the voice. 

"Oh, you startled me, Ramsey..." Ramsey laughed and took a seat in one of Percy's chairs.

"Sorry Perc', didn't mean to. Was funny though," Ramsey smiled and Percy smiled back. Percy stood there staring into the rat-man's eyes, he looked cute sitting in the chair. It took Percy a moment to realize they hadn't broken eye contact for more than a minute, and her face went red when she did.

"So uh, we should probably head down to the station, people probably have been searching for us." Percy finally broke contact and turned her head so Ramsey couldn't see how much she was blushing.

"Oh uh yeah...." Ramsey stood up from his chair and stretched, as he did Percy could've sworn she saw some red on Ramsey's face. "So should we go...?"

"Oh! Yes, we probably should." Ramsey opened Percy's front door for her and followed her outside. Percy stood still, "I may have forgotten the fact my cruiser is not here. We will have to walk to the station, it isn't far, about 2 miles."

"Not far!" Ramsey said shocked, "That's pretty far Percy..." Percy looked at Ramsey with slight confusion.

"Is it not? I jog that distance every day..." 

"Huh... Well, it may not be far for you, but it's far for me." That's when Percy saw a familiar vehicle on the road, it belonged to Fred Donaldson. It might not be the best idea to hitch a ride with him, but Percy didn't care, she didn't want Ramsey to tire out. 

"Hey, Mr. Donaldson!" Percy said with a wave. Fred jumped in his seat and about swerved off the road and into a mailbox, but he was able to regain control of his car. He slowly pulled over next to Percy & Ramsey and rolled down his window cautiously. 

"Oh hi, Miss Fuzz..." Fred managed to squeak out.

"Yes, hello. Could my partner and I get a ride to the police station?"

Fred's eyes wandered, and he rubbed the back of his head "Um... I guess I could take you two there... Er... hop in." 

"Thank you, Mr. Donaldson." Percy rounded the car and entered through the passenger side door, scooching to the middle so Ramsey could fit inside the tiny 2 door truck. "You do know where the police station is?"

"Uh yep, yeah yeeaah... Of course, I do yeah...! It's uh by 9th Avenue and down Harris right?"

Percy squinted, "It's down on 15th Fred..."

"Uh I knew that...! Yep," Fred started the car and the rumble shook Percy. Percy hadn't really paid much attention to the interior of the Donaldson kid's car before, so she decided to look around. The first thing that caught Percy's eye was a small black case in the open glove compartment, she reached over Ramsey and took the case. Percy opened the case and inside was a pair of black-rimmed spectacles, "Uh Miss Fuzz, those are my glasses..." Fred had seemed to take notice of Percy's snooping. 

"If you have glasses, why aren't you wearing them?" Ramsey butted in. 

"Cause I don't need them! Bos- I mean Giovanni made me go to an optometrist, but I'm seriously fine without them," the name, Giovanni seemed familiar to Percy, then she remembered, he was the young evil-doer that stole the Arsene Amulet! 

"Mr. Donaldson, do you know this Giovanni Potage?" Fred jumped "He is wanted for the theft of the Arsene Amulet. Who knows what sort of villainy he is conducting at this moment!" (Cut to Giovanni, idk, playing with trains or something) 

"Uh, did I say Giovanni? I meant... uh... Gio...? Danni! Yep...! Goidanni," Fred looked around, eyeing everything he could find, until he stopped at Ramsey, "Uh Murdoch! Yeah, we're the bestest of friends!" Fred ended with a nervous laugh, which made Percy turn to Ramsey with a suspicious look. 

"Oh yeah, Giodanni! My uh... nephew, didn't know he lived around here..." Percy squinted at Ramsey and he just gave back a lazy smile. Percy shrugged and turned back to Fred, who now looks like he just wet his pants.

"Well Mr. Donaldson if you see the pink-haired rapscallion, please do not hesitate to call me or the police."

"Uh yep, will do...!" Fred paused in thought, "Uh Mr. Murdoch? Can you hand me my glasses please?" 

Most of the ride was uneventful, that is if you don't count the various crashes Fred almost got into. When they pulled into the station, Detective Mason noticed them and got off his phone, then waved them over. Fred took a couple minutes trying to find a good spot to park until Percy just told him to stop in the road. Ramsey got out followed by Percy, Mason walked over since Fred parked like 50 feet away. "Hey! Where you been Perce'? Eros about called you MIA, and Ramsey there a fugitive. Meryl may or may not have gone crazy out of worry." Mason laughed. 

"Sorry detective. Ramsey and I were captured by a hitman named Silas Colt. I've never heard of him myself." Mason froze, his smile turned to a frown of dismay and concern. "Ramsey told me he was dangerous, bu-"

"Colt? He's more than dangerous. How did even you survive? He isn't known to leave survivors, and you don't look like you've been through hell." Percy opened her mouth but Ramsey replied for her.

"He let us go."

"He...? He let you go?" Mason stood dumbfounded, "If you weren't here, I wouldn't believe it. He's a monster, at least half of my cases have him as the prime suspect, and he doesn't like to leave loose ends..."

"So we need to keep our wits about us around him, I take it?" 

"Very much so, I'd keep that sword of yours at his throat. He doesn't like negotiation and will not talk, so it'd be easier to just kill him, but that's not ethical. It's not like he knows anything about that anyway, but we have a duty nonetheless, a duty to protect everyone. Beit even psychotic hitmen..." Percy didn't really like hearing more about Silas, she was already put off by how he enjoyed toying with Ramsey. "I should probably inform Eros you're back, so he doesn't put out a BOLO for the con man, give me a minute." Mason turned to leave but hit something. 

Percy heard a long slurp and Mason stepped to the side, a moustached Oscar crept into view, holding a blue Slurpee. "Whatcha talking 'bout?"


	6. A Stupid Lead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Idk, something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoooort! But now i don't care

Ramsey stared at Oscar with various different expressions, mainly those of concern and disapproval. "What! I shaved?" Oscar shrugged.

"That's not- Why...? You know what, never mind. I'm gonna go tell Eros you're here. You two can deal with Slurpee... " And Mason started walking off again, but then he stopped and turned around, "You know what? Give me that..." With a flick of a finger, Oscar's blue Slurpee flew towards Mason at high speed and was caught with ease. 

"Wha- Hey...! That's mine!"

"You're on duty, and you've already had at least what... five sodas?"

Oscar stammered, "I only had four..."

"Still... It's only 10 am and you've had enough sugar." Mason started backing up with the Slurpee still in hand, "It's like babysitting a damn child." With that Mason took a sip of the Slurpee, "Hmm, not bad..." And Mason turned back around and walked into the station still slurping on the Slurpee aggressively. 

"Wow, can you believe that guy? Stole my Slurpee, and I paid 5 bucks for that..."

Percy, emotionless replied, "Yes, that is quite expensive for a frozen confectionary, but while we were gone did you find any more clues at the gallery?"

Oscar rubbed the back of his head, "Well, actually we did. I found some leads on the thief, and yes I found them myself. Apparently, the 'thieves' are quite professional, a team of three thieves broke inside. That's why we couldn't find anything on arrival. They took all measures needed to make sure they wouldn't be caught, but they got sloppy... and greedy I might add. You see I was looking around the security office and a cord seemed out of place... so I followed it and found some kind of machine in the wall. I asked around and it was some kind of storage medium, and inside I found a couple VHS tapes... Apparently, The New Sweet Jazz Art Gallery's security system is extremely outdated, and that's why we could never find anybody on the camera feed... The thieves could easily make recordings and swap 'em out... And they did, but fortunately for us that storage medium still recorded what actually happened. Don't ask me how, I had no idea what the thing even was at first. Anyway, the thieves never intended to steal the Picasso, only the cheap paintings so they could go unnoticed, but one of the thieves got greedy and stole it anyway, and his greed allowed us to find out about the robbery in the first place."

Ramsey tried to digest all of the information Oscar just threw at him and Percy, but before he could even start Percy butted in. 

"And the lead...?"

"I was getting to it... You see one of the thieves got a little too cocky and took his mask off. While you two were gone I had a sketch done." Oscar hands a piece of paper to Ramsey. Ramsey looked over it. The man had a long skinny face with angry proportions. His hair curled in the front creating superman hair, and his thin frowned mouth was surrounded by a short Van Dyke mustache. At the top of the paper, there was the name Zack in quotations. "Two of the thieves seemed to call each other by name. Zack and Mike. As peculiar as it is, Mike wore a red beret on top of his ski mask, and that may also be lead. Also, it seems Zack and Mike both served in the Military, that Zack guy kept grumbling about some Fort Polk... And yes I did my research, Fort Polk is a Military Base in the Swamps, and I see why Zack was grumbling about it... And they didn't serve together, but they are friends. The third thief seems to have no connection to the other two and will be the hardest to catch. If it'll be of any use, Zack seems to also have an interest in guns, that's kinda all he talked about, and he talked a lot." 

Ramsey saw Percy's face scrunch up "Great... Thank you for the lead, Detective, we will-" And that's when Ramsey heard a scream from the front door of the police station. 

"PERCY!" The trio immediately looked towards the screaming. A woman came running out. She had orange hair with a hoop, and she only one eye much like Ramsey. Her glasses almost fell off as she stumbled through the door. 

"Meryl!" Percy stood still as this Meryl bear-hugged her, "Yes hello, it's good to see you too Meryl."

Meryl let go and her face changed from excitement to worry, "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yes, Meryl. I'm fine..."

"Oh my god, I'm so glad! I was so worried when you didn't respond, no one could reach you and you just went missing!" Ramsey chuckled, he could see this woman was not at all like Percy. Meryl completely ignored Ramsey and took Percy's hand. 

"Come on...! We need you to write a report." Ramsey and Oscar glanced at each other.

"That's Meryl... She's a bundle of joy," Oscar sighed. "With a sad and confused heart..."

***

Percy was jerked into her office by Meryl and stumbled into her chair almost breaking it. "Stay here, I'm gonna tell everyone you're back."

"Alright, Meryl." As Meryl left Percy sighed. She was a handful. Percy looked around her office, it was a welcome sight, but something caught her eye... An envelope with the initials "S.C" written on the front. It was a plain white envelope with a fancy red wax to hold it together. Percy opened one of her drawers in her desk to find a letter opener, but all she found was a knife... Her brother's old knife. She stared blankly into the blade, but she soon blinked and snapped out of her episode. She used the knife to open the letter and inside was a rather well-written letter. It read: "Detective King. I have a lead for you, whether you use it or not is up to you. I believe I have the location of one of the thieves you and the Rat are searching for. Try looking into Zach's Guns and Ammo... It should be rather self-explanatory why. Sincerely, a Concerned Citizen. P.S whatever you do, don't. Mention. Corn." 

Percy put the gun store at the back of her mind, as her door slowly opened. A burly man with pink hair and a mustache leaned on the door frame, "Heya Perce'," His deep sultry voice bellowed into Percy's elvish-like ears. 

Percy hid the letter under her desk, and stood straight in her chair, "Hello Sergeant Eros, I assume you came to check up on me?"

"Indeed I am... And you know you don't have to be formal with me Percy..."

"Yes, si- Eros..." Eros chuckled and stood straight.

"Glad to have you back Perce... Oscar had to do overtime..." Then he backed out of the door and smiled. 

Percy stared at the door, then at the letter, and then at her brother's knife. Her pupils started to shrink, and she broke into tears, she cried alone for a good few minutes. Percy heard her door open and a familiar rat face peeked out. Ramsey entered the office and closed the door behind him. He sat in the chair in front of her desk and simply asked, "Are you okay?"

Percy wiped the numerous tears off her face, "Yes I am fine. Thank you for asking." 

"You're obviously not if you're crying like you're grieving... If you need to talk just ask..." Percy stared at the knife and sighed...

"My brother Danny was murdered by some miscreants when I was 13. His death is what started my fight for justice... Before he died he gave me his knife, and I've had it ever since."

Percy looked at Ramsey with sorrow, she didn't really like to talk about her older brother but she did sing about him if you could even call it singing... Ramsey said nothing, and stood from his chair and embraced her. "It's alright, I'm here." Percy felt better in Ramsey's arms, so much better.


	7. A Percival's Trauma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback caused by the comfort of Ramsey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longy boi, and rather quick too I'm not proud about the end, kinda rushed....

Percy was walking to her locker, she had just turned 13, but nobody cared. She was pushed into her locker from behind, causing her to drop her books. "Hey freak! I think you dropped something..." Percy was a social outcast & autistic, and she was bullied constantly. Nobody helped her. "Come on pick 'em up... Pick your books up." And Percy did, she knelt down to pick up her books and papers when she was kicked in her gut. She collapsed on the floor, her books digging into her stomach. "Hah! Come on ge-" the bully stopped mid sentence, Percy barely lifted her head to see brown sneakers near her face. 

"Get the FUCK, away from her." The voice was a lot older and familiar, it was her brother, Danny.

Percy could hear the stammers from the bully as she probably pissed her pants, "I- I'm sorry...! It was just a prank!" 

Percy heard a scoff from her brother, "A prank!? You're kicking and bullying a 13 year old girl with mental issues! Now... fucking leave."

Without a word the bully and her friends sprinted away down the school's hall. Danny helped Percy up and held her shoulders, she noticed his dirty blonde ponytail swinging around the back of his head, it felt hypnotic. "You alright Perce?" 

Very formally and matter of factly Percy brushed her self off and stared blankly back at her brother, "Yes Daniel I am fine. Thank you for the assistance. "

Danny pulled Percy into a tight hug, "You should've told me, Perky. " Perky... Percy felt indifferent about the nickname but she would get embarrassed when it was used in public spaces. Like school... "If you need to talk about anything, all you need to do is ask." Danny let go and gave her a noogie that messed with her hair. "Well you should get to class, I'm already late myself, " Danny laughed "Love you Perce, see you at the end of school," and he walked off down the hall disappearing into the crowd of students.

***

Percy sat at the desk at the back of the class in the corner, as always. She opened one of her books and started reading, she had taken an interest in law recently so she started reading biographies of lawyers, and policewoman. Percy heard a flump in the desk next to her. Percy spun her to her right, a cheery looking girl with freckles and orange hair sat in the desk next to her, her glasses almost fell off. "Hi! I'm Meryl, Meryl Lockhart," she said with a cheery yet nervous smile. 

"Hello... I am Percival King, call me Percy."

"Well, nice to meet you Percy. I'm new here, I just moved and I'm pretty nervous... I saw you over here in the corner alone and... uh... I guess you could call it a connection?"

To be frank... Percy did too. Percy twirled a band of her blonde hair, she was still feeling pretty anxious about the "incident" in the hall. "Well, it's good to meet you too Meryl. I'm sorry if this awkward, I don't have very good social skills..."

Meryl laughed nervously... "Heh... Me too... Wanna be friends?" She stopped and gasped, "Oh my god... Was that too fast? I'm sorry..." 

Percy simply calmed her down with a raised hand. "It is quite alright, no need to apologize... And yes we can be friends..." Percy smiled at Meryl which calmed her down.

"Oh thank god... At least I didn't screw up this introduction..."

Percy smirked, Meryl was so awkward it was funny, and Percy had a dry sense of humor.

Meryl moved a band of hair out of her face with a nervous smile, "Welp... I guess we're friends now,"

"Yes it seems we are."

Then there was silence, and they just stared at each other for a minute or two. Then they just burst out laughing. Meryl lost the staring contest. 

***

Percy was waiting outside school for her brother, he was 17 and in 11th grade so he had to stay a little longer because of Ms. Helen's strict science class. Percy started kicking rocks and pacing around, student after student left with their parents and soon it was only her on the sidewalk. Two teenagers approached her, they looked to be about 16 or 17 and weren't from the area. The taller of the two stepped forward. "Hey kid do you know where a Danny King is?"

Percy stared at them with a puzzled look. "Yes. He is my older sibling. " That's when Percy heard footsteps from behind her, and she turned around "Hey Perk- " Danny stopped in his tracks, "Percival, get away from them."

Danny hardly ever used her actual name, she knew he was serious about these two when he did. She walked calmly to her brother's side and turned to face the stranger's. 

This time the shorter guy stepped forward, "Yo King, where's our weed?"

Percy noticed Danny reach inside his pocket with his right hand. "I don't deal anymore... I'm clean now, and I couldn't even if I wanted to, I threw the bag away." Danny pushed Percy furthur behind him and glanced at her with worry. "Now leave us alone, please..."

"Nah mahn, we paid good money for that dope..." the taller teen threw open a switchblade, trying to intimidate Danny. He didn't back down, but he did start to slowly pull his hand out of his pocket. 

"Just leave... and nobody'll get hurt."

"Nah... We paid and you hand the dope over. If you don't go through with the deal... Well... Someone dies." Percy backed behind her brother's leg and hid behind it. Percy tugged at her brother's shirt, and Danny looked down and smiled, "It'll be alright Percy," then Danny pat Percy's head in an attempt to comfort her. 

Percy then saw Danny's hand shoot out of his pocket and lunge towards the tall guy. The guy backed away and ran, leaving Danny with only the shorter guy, Percy saw movement in the corner of her eye and she tried to warn her brother, but it was too late, Percy witnessed a long knife penetrate Danny's abdomen and lung, he grunted in agony. In retaliation Danny stabbed his knife into the man's shoulder and pushed him off, the man lunged again and attempted to completely open Danny's abdomen, but he failed and Danny slashed the man's hand and stabbed into the Man's gut twice. This caused the man to fall back and run. 

When Percy saw the man take off, she ran towards her brother who was now on the ground. Percy panicked, her brother was on the ground dying and she didn't know what to do. Danny's chest rose... and fell... rose... and fell, his breathing never stopped but Percy could see it was hard for him to breathe. Danny turned his head to look at Percy, "He- Hey Percy..." Danny raised his hand and put his hand on her shoulder. "You're gonna have to... learn how to protect yourself now..." Percy's eyes shrunk, and felt heavy. Percy started sobbing over her brother's body, she did not want to lose her brother, he was the only person that really loved her. "Percy calm down... It's going to be alright." Danny took his hand off Percy's shoulder and searched around a bit before picking up his knife. "Here..." Percy hesitated but eventually took the knife from Danny's hand. "Keep it safe..." Danny tried to smile through the pain, "It's gonna be the last memory you'll have of me soon..." He groaned and bit his lip, and his chin fuzz came into view. "Try ta'- try ta' interact more with people please, it'll help you... Please have a good life and don't end up like your brother. Don't, just please don't..."

Percy stayed by her brother's side the entire time, and in time Danny soon died of blood loss. All she wanted... Was justice.

***

The next day, people started to realize Danny wasn't at the school that day and rumors spread, so she was starting to be bullied again. Percy was enrolled to an all Mundie school in her hometown of Paleco, Taiga, and that became a problem. Percy was in the hallway when bullies approached her, and wanted to hurt her and they knew they could without someone interrupting them. The bullies did not count on Percy having an epithet, an epithet that she didn't even know she had. 

"Well ello' freak, your brother's not here. Now we can teach you something..."

Percy tried to back up but she bumped into a wall. 

"You're stuck..." the bully laughed. 

Percy felt scared, her back was against the wall and she couldn't do anything. The bully stomped on Percy's toe. It hurt but she didn't care about the pain... She thought about her brother... Hurting others is a crime and unjust, and she was suffering for anothers actions. Percy closed her eyes and felt contempt, she heard a zap and many gasps, which made her open her eyes. The bully was on the floor groaning, and next to Percy was a stone tower... In a matter of seconds she was sent the office and expelled, and her relationship with her parents deteriorated even further after. She never really felt love after her brother died, but now she feels loved again...


	8. It's Just Natural

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of Percy's flashback, the duo check on some of the leads they've gathered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop Woop- Kinda rushed- Woop Woop

The embrace felt like it happened for hours and Percy only just stopped crying, it was so long since Percy felt some kind of real love. Of course, there was Meryl but that was different, Percy felt hardly any emotion at all. Ramsey felt like her best friend, much like the relationship Percy and her brother had, and it felt good. Percy felt so warm while holding Ramsey, something she truly hasn't felt since her brother was killed, and could barely get out of Meryl. She felt loved... "Thank you, Ramsey. Just thank you so much..."

"No problem doll..."

The duo's embrace was interrupted however when the door inched open. Percy's face went beet red, and she could feel Ramsey's cheeks get warmer too. A certain goofy man with a brown mustache peeked inside. His eyes widened, mouth puffed, and his hand reached for the doorknob, Percy heard a click, and he slowly closed the door behind him. Ramsey looked at Percy with a very confused look, "Well that was odd." The two separated and eventually, their faces went a more ruby red.

"Indeed it was Ramsey." Ramsey rubbed the back of his head, and the two came into eye contact. Suddenly Percy remembered something. The letter.

Percy broke contact and sped under her desk. The envelope laid flat on the ground. Percy held it up. "What's that?"

"I think you might know..." Percy held the envelope out.

"I might know?"

***

Ramsey froze. Two letters laid smack in the middle of the envelope, two letters he did want to see, no less expect to see. S.C... Those were Silas Colt's initials. Ramsey snatched the letter out of Percy's hand and read it. "This is Colt's handwriting alright... What's this about Zach's Guns & Ammo?"

"Well Ramsey if you recall the sketch Oscar had given you, the perpetrator's name was Zach. Who also happens to have an affinity for guns." Ramsey was starting to catch on...

"Oh..."

"Yep. Now come on, we have crime to solve!" Ramsey was surprised when he saw Percy smile and how joyful she was but was jerked away before he could think more on it. Percy opened the door, and the police station was a silent craze. No doubt Oscar caused it, but he was innocently eating a donut with Meryl at the entrance, so it wasn't him.

"Oh hey! Mm, that's good... Guys, mm, whatcha running for?" Talking with his mouth full... Have he no manners!

"We have a lead on the case!"

"Well take my car, and don't wreck it!"

Ramsey noticed Meryl's face shoot up, "Wait what about your report!"

Percy had already bolted through the revolving door with Ramsey in tow, "No time, I'll do it later!"

Meryl sighed, "Oh come on..."

Oscar playfully elbowed Meryl in the shoulder, "Hey cheer up girl! You owe her enough already, think of it as a favor that you..." Oscar got closer to Meryl's face and winked, "Forgot about it? Eh, eh...?"

Meryl's face went pink, "Y-yeah, thanks... Now could you p-please move, you're making me uncomfortable..." Oscar laughed and did as Meryl asked... But he knew that was a lie...

***

It took Percy more than an hour to reach Zach's Guns & Ammo, it was in uptown Sweet Jazz, which was notorious for its slow traffic.

The duo entered the store, and a bored-looking man sat in a spinning chair behind the counter cleaning a handgun. He looked similar to the sketch but had a thinner face and a patchier goatee.

"Ello, what can I get for you two...? And no I'm not gonna fix your guns, heard enough of today and I'm in a bad mood."

"Hello I am Detective King of the Sweet Jazz police, my partner and I are looking for the owner of this establishment."

"Uh, that's me. I'm Zach... Watcha need?"

"We would like to ask you some questions if that's alright"

"Um okey?"

"Thank you, Mr...?"

"Hazard."

"Mr. Hazard." Percy noticed Ramsey had started browsing, he took a particular interest in one of the Glocks, though Percy did not know which one. Percy took a notepad out of her back pocket, "What were you doing at 10:20 pm, 2 days ago."

"I was with my girlfriend..."

Percy notes it down, "Alright thank you. Now, do you know someone named Mike?"

Zach's eyebrow shot up, "Yeah, I know a Mike, no last name?"

"No surname. All we have is his first name."

"Alright... Anything else?"

"Yes, have you served in the military?"

"Yeah..."

"Ok..." Percy's face scrunched up, she couldn't think of any more questions. All she could think of was... Ramsey. There was a good minute before any words were spoken.

"Hey uh whatever you're looking miss, you may find next door. There's a therapist or psychologist there with a criminal background whose name is Zachary, I heard he barely passed his interview when his record came."

"Alright we may look into that, thank you." Zach nodded.

There was a ring and the door swung open behind Percy, Zach shot up from his seat "Welcome...!" Zach turned to Percy, "Ms. King, not trying to be rude here, but I have a customer so could you..." Zach gestured towards the door.

"Sure. Come on Ramsey."

***

Ramsey and Percy exited the store, Ramsey overheard the conversation and there was indeed a therapist's office next door. "Should we go in there?" Ramsey gestured towards the office.

There was a pause before Percy replied, "I suppose so, we have no other leads." The two entered the office, no receptionist, but there was a kid in a green and white hoodie sitting in the receptionist's chair, "Dr. Ashling?" The kid looked up revealing a pair of glasses.

"Detective King?"

"Ramsey Murdoch!" Ramsey butted in, Sylvie and Percy stared at Ramsey quite unamused.

"Was that a joke Ramsey?"

"Well... Not technically, but I did try to get you guys to laugh. OK, I admit it was pretty lame..."

"So... Detective King, what are you doing here?"

"My partner and I are looking for a psychologist or therapist with the forename, Zachary." Sylvie tensed up.

Ramsey saw a tall man open a door in the corner of his eye, who walked next to the desk. "Heya Sylvie," The man wrapped Sylvie around his arm and messed with his hair.

"Please Dr. Martin." Dr. Martin let go with a smile, "Alright..." Martin turned to the duo "So what are you two here for?"

"We're looking for a psychologist with the forename Zachary..."

"You're looking at him. If you want to talk about what I think you are, we'll need to go to my office. Don't want Sylvie to hear it."

"If you wish."

***

Percy sat in the chair in front of the desk, her hands in her lap. Dr. Martin sighed "Are you here about my record?"

"No, we are not. We are here about a robbery, and one of the thieves' names were Zach."

"Oh thank god... I suppose you want to know my criminal history then?"

"It would be helpful."

"Well when I was younger, about 17, I was arrested for petty thievery, which will possibly pique your interest. I'm 42 years old now. However, I have allegations of sexual and psychical contact with my own damn child and the same to my ex-wife, who accused me in the first place." Dr. Martin exhaled. "I only got this job, because my boss is an old friend of mine."

"Do you mind if we ask you some questions, Dr. Martin?"

"Sure sure..." Dr. Martin's voice changed to a calmer and more soothing voice. Percy suddenly felt safe in his office.

"Where were you at 10:20 pm, 2 days ago."

"I was at my other job, at a gas station."

"You have another job on top of psychology?"

"I do... Don't worry about me Detective, I've been able to work on 4 hours of sleep since I was 14. I'm fine... I don't need a detective to worry about me." Dr. Martin said with a smile.

"Well, ok then. Do you know anyone named Mike?"

"Yeah, I served with a Mike in the Army..."

"So you served in the military..."

"Yeah, I did. Fought in the desert wars. Two tours as an officer."

"Well, thank you for your service, I'm from the Taiga myself."

"Nice to meet someone from my own province."

Percy blanked out once again, but her thought process was interrupted by Dr. Martin.

"If you don't mind me asking, but how's your personal life, like friendships." Percy didn't know why, but she felt obligated to answer it.

"Well... It's not very good. I only have a couple of friends, and I focus on my work instead of interacting with them, and I don't express a lot of emotion."

"Could you elaborate?"

"After my brother was killed I shut my emotions away to cope with his loss. My parents pretty much ignored me after his death, which didn't help at all. It's hard for me to be a friend."

After a minute of long thought, Dr. Martin had a reply, "What you have is natural but I _can_ work on it. If you want assistance," Dr. Martin handed Percy a small piece of card stock. "Call that." Dr. Martin ended with a warm smile. Percy stared at the card. It advertised his business, and it seemed very formal to her.

"Detective I have a patient coming in about 5 minutes... And I need to get ready for them, so if we're done, I need you to go."

Without looking up from the card, Percy replied "Yeah, sorry we'll leave..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Ramsey was looking at the Glocks in the gun store I was SOOOO tempted to add a sentence that said Percy glanced at his ass, but it's Percy, so she wouldn't. Or would she *Serious face*


	9. It's Hell in Southern Sweet Jazz City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detectives Meryl & Oscar, in the new hit show; "Shit's Fucked in Sweet Jazz City"  
> Episode 2: "Fire & Time Don't Go Together"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This could have been do much better... Also i want to thank co-creator LunaLeDragonet, she helped me with many of the Zora scenes because i literally cannot characterize her.

Oscar sat in his cruiser, Percy dropped it off only 17 minutes earlier and he was waiting for Meryl to get her shit together for the night shift, but Oscar was patient. They were partners after all, and Oscar was used to this. Oscar yawned as he heard the passenger side door open, of course, it was a sleep-deprived Meryl holding a steaming hot cup of coffee. "Oh god, sorry for making you wait Osc'..."

Oscar smiled, he had heard that exact sentence many a time. "It's fine."

Meryl nervously laughed "Ok good..." Meryl tried to calm herself down but failed miserably, "So uh... Who are were looking for again...?"

Oscar yawned again, this time louder, he knew she wouldn't remember. "Well we have two high bounties that were recently reported to be in southern Sweet Jazz City, and there are currently no bounty hunters in the area to catch them, so Eros wants us there." Oscr stopped "Well that's not exactly true... Zora's nearby," Oscar noticed Meryl immediately blush up, which to be frank made him smile, "But... she's one of the people we're trying to apprehend. So your little crush is gonna have to put on hold, Meryl..." Oscar said coyly. Meryl's face went a bubble gum pink and her eyes widened.

"What? I-I don't have a crush on Salazar, s-she's a terrorist!"

Oscar laughed, he had heard that reasoning a lot. "Oh but according to you she's a _hawt_ terrorist." Meryl tried to say something back but all that could come out was some very cute noises that almost made Oscar himself blush.

Oscar just smiled and sighed, "Meryl. Do me a favor and never change..." That comment shut Meryl up quickly and her face went redder as a tomato. Oscar laughed at her cute reaction and started the car. Oscar had a feeling they'd find trouble... And find trouble they did.

***

When the two arrived at the Sweet Jazz Provincial Park, it was completely empty apart from a man sitting on a bench with binoculars and a newspaper. Oscar guessed he was bird watching, Percy always talked about seeing a man watching birds while on her daily jogs. The man seemed familiar to Oscar and he remembered he was the other bounty the two were searching for. Oscar stopped Meryl before she could approach him. "Wait! Don't rush in..." Oscar whispered

"What's wrong?" Asked Meryl.

Oscar nervously looked around the empty park, "I may not have looked him up on the criminal database, so I don't know what he can do... Or what his charges are. Or if he has an epithet or not..."

Meryl's face scrunched up and she sighed, "My god Oscar... How bad is your attention span?" Oscar knew what was about to happen so he kept so his voice down.

"It was your job to look him up, I was driving!"

"I CAN'T FUCKING SEE WELL, AND I HAVE MY GLASSES ON!" Meryl didn't curse often and only did when she was mad... At Oscar...

"Alright alright fine... I guess it was technically my fault, you had nothing to do with it."

Meryl's anger turned into smugness and she crossed her arms "Glad you saw reason." Oscar sighed, he could never really win with her.

"Alright listen, if he has a bounty higher than your crush..." Meryl's smug smile dissipated and she turned bright pink, "That means he's dangerous. He may seem to be innocently watching birds over there, but you never know. Anyhow his name is Samuel Firestone, that's all I know apart from he has multiple outstanding warrants for his arrest."

"That's all you know...?"

"I mean I know what he looks like, but that's it. You know I have a bad memory, Meryl... I'm sowwy." Oscar made an attempt at making a cute face but his freshly trimmed mustache halted any attempt at something cute, regardless it still made Meryl blush even harder, much to Oscar's joy.

"Gods, you two sound like a married couple..."

The two turned around and Samuel was now reading the newspaper hiding his bearded face, but Oscar could notice his eyes glance upwards at times.

"Eh whatever don't worry about it. So whatcha need Officers...?"

"Well, it just so it happens we were looking for you. Samuel Firestone, you have multiple outstanding warrants for your arrest," Oscar saw Sam's eyes slowly came up from his newspaper. "So we will need you to stand up and place your hands behind your back." 

Sam sighed and laid his newspaper down and slowly stood up. Sam put his hands behind his back waiting for the two to do something. 

Meryl astounded, commented "Well, that was easy."

*******

Meryl had already cuffed Sam, he was sat on the curb while Meryl and Oscar bickered.

"We should take him down to the station now." Meryl sleepily suggested.

"We can't Meryl... we might lose Zora."

"Well-" Oscar started to hear some sort of noise... like a sizzle.

"Hey, Meryl do you hear that?"

"Yeah I do, I thought my ears were just playing tricks on me..."

Then a clang of metal on concrete behind them, the two turned around and Sam was standing up rubbing his now free wrists. Sam was smiling.

"Meryl, did you put eraser cuffs on him?"

"I-I thought I did..."

Sam chortled, "Girl you need some sleep, you'll see a lot better. See ya officers, I'd... advise... you not to touch me..." Sam exhaled, Oscar could see sweat build up around his face, "You... might get hurt, and we both don't want that..." Sam exhaled again, "Bye now." Meryl tried to run after Sam but Oscar stopped her.

"Nuh-uh, don't want you to get hurt."

"We could get him again, put him in eraser cuffs this time."

"Not a chance. Sam is like a furnace Meryl, he melted off those cuffs, if one of us touches him we're gonna get burned." Meryl saw reason and backed down. The two watched Sam slink away as he exhaled every step.

*******

The duo stayed at the park for any signs of Zora, and it was enough time for the cowgirl to show up. Meryl was the first to see her stumble into the parking lot.

"Z-Zora...?"

Zora exhaled and smiled, "Well 'ello dere coppers!" Zora looked like she was hurt.

Oscar was the first to notice her limp and the first to ask about it. "Uh, Zora? You got a limp there partner?"

"Wha'ht? Noo... Ahm fine Oscer." Meryl seemed surprised.

"W-wait you two... uh know each other?"

"Indeed we do Meryl. Look, Zora... You're hurt, no matter how much you deny it, you're hurt. Let Meryl patch you up, she's a medic."

"A cop patch me uhp? You sure Oscer?" Oscar smiles, he was very sure...

"Oh I'm sure Zora, Meryl happens to be quite a fan of yours." Meryl yelps and caught the attention of Zora...

"A fahn huh..."

All Meryl could do was make cute babbles, and both Zora and Oscar laughed at how cutely nervous she was.

"You know gurl, yur pretty cute." Oscar smiled at Zora's quip and glanced back to see Meryl's reaction, Meryl was **dark** red and had shut up completely.

"Look, Zora we need to get back to the station soon for a report. So Meryl'll need to treat you on the move. I can drive slow of course and there's not going to be much traffic around here at night."

Zora weighed her options, finally getting a resolution, "Fine Oscer, but this better not be a trick...."

"No trick here. You've known me for years I wouldn't betray your trust or anyones for that matter"

"Sorry Oscer... You know ah have trust issues."

"Yeah, that's why I'm not mad..."

Oscar entered the car, Zora and Meryl got in the back.

"So doc..." Oscar started the car.

"Er I'm not a Doctor... i never graduated..." Oscar backed out of the parking lot.

"Um alrighty..."

Oscar butted in, "Meryl."

"Meryl." Zora nodded, "Its my leg." 

"Um ok..." Oscar couldn't see much of what was happening in the back, he was too focused on the road.

"Oh god... What happened?"

"Oh nothin... Jus a lil fiight i had with an ol' adversary of mine."

"Is that old adversary of yours named Sam?"

"Meryl what is it?"

"Theres are a bunch of burns up and down her leg... Its not pretty." 

"Well too bad we don't have any butter!" There was silence so Oscar turned around. Zora and Meryl were staring at him confused. Oscar turned back around, "Its just how my family dealt with burns alright..."

"Thats not... Ok well give me a minute Zora I'll do what i can."

"Alrighty!"

A few minutes passed and Oscar decided to look in the rearview mirror. Meryl and Zora were in quite the strange position, Meryl was no doubt loving and hating her situation by how red her face was. "Quite a... revealing position you guys er' in..."

Oscar snickered, Zora was confused while Meryl lost her shit. Meryl tried to retaliate but she just couldn't, which made Oscar laugh. Oscar brushed it off and tried to keep his eyes on the road, but alas it was hard. It was so hard...


	10. It's Harder Than It Seems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ramsey has to comfort Percy during her PTSD-induced panic attack when they arrive home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally had this and the Meryl & Oscar show together as one chapter so that's why it's so short. That and i have no inspiration so...

Percy called a cab after she left Oscar's car back at the station, she and Ramsey took the ride back to her house. The day wasn't very action-filled but the weird encounter with Dr. Martin left Percy a little concerned and her stamina low. Ramsey seemed concerned as well, he didn't speak a single word on the ride back. The car stopped in front of her plain house, as she stepped out of the cab she fell but was saved by Ramsey before she could touch the ground. "Lemme carry you inside..."

Percy didn't make an attempt to struggle as Ramsey picked up her tired body. She melted into the warmth of Ramsey's thin arms, where she'd usually comment on his eating habits (which is hypocritical) she instead said nothing and enjoyed the comfort of another. The two entered the house and Percy heard the light flick. It wasn't long until Ramsey entered her bedroom, he laid her down on the bed, but Percy didn't want to be alone. Before Ramsey could leave she held onto his arm. 

*******

Ramsey turned around when he felt her touch, Percy's blue eyes penetrated his soul. Tears accumulated around her eyes, "Ramsey. Please... Don't go..." Ramsey only ever saw Percy cry one other time, but this time it seemed worse. Ramsey sat next to Percy on the bed, cradling her shoulder.

"Perce'... I-" Percy crawled closer to Ramsey and snuggled into his arm. Ramsey hadn't felt much affection in his life, his parents didn't really care about him, Oscar didn't understand his situation, and Zora always hunted him down without a second thought, but this... It felt good, but he wished it was under better circumstances. Ramsey felt Percy's hands start to shake and her body shiver, she started to pant as she cried and cried. Ramsey stroked her arm in an attempt to calm her but it didn't much, "It's- It's alright, I'm here." Ramsey was never good with human interaction, he wasn't like Percy just socially awkward, and he never really had a rather _soothing_ voice, but he tried. "Percy... It's alright. I'm here for you. Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole way."

Percy pulled Ramsey down to her side, "Then please, just... hold me." Ramsey laid next to Percy and held her tight as she cried. He blushed in the dark, lying next to a cute elf-like woman he admired didn't help his situation but he had to quell his feelings, that woman was crying her heart out. Percy snuggled further into Ramsey's body clutching his arm, sniffling as her body shook. He caressed her arm as she shook into his body. Ramsey was now stuck... There was no way he was gonna get out of this, he had to sleep in a bed with Percy now, but Ramsey didn't care. All he cared about was comforting Percy.

*******

Percy's mind raced as she clung to Ramsey's arm, she did not like to talk about her brother. All her thoughts were of him, and she couldn't shake them. Ramsey's comfort helped but it wasn't enough to end it completely. It was harder than she'd like to portray. To Percy, this day was utter hell, with the only light that helped her through it being Ramsey.

Eventually, her sniffling ended and she began to relax into his body. She could fall asleep... And fall asleep she did.


	11. All True Friendships Lead to Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy wakes up after her little... fit...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just rushed it at the end, so hi there

Percy's still sleepy eyes opened, the crust around them fell as her eyelids unfolded. Her plain wallpaper seemed duller than usual, and as she sat up it was brightened by the sunlight that crept through Percy's window blinds. The sunlight coming from the blinds flickered ever so often. Percy recalled overhearing a conversation Oscar and Meryl had about the weather recently, apparently a certain type of frozen precipitation they called snow was going to be falling Thursday morning. Percy hadn't been keeping up with the dates recently and didn't know what day of the week it was, but she was able to conclude that today was in fact, Thursday.

Percy sluggishly climbed out of bed and stumbled towards the window, she opened the blinds and her vision was assaulted by very bright light. When she came to, Percy viewed numerous snowflakes plummet onto blankets of snow that resided on her lawn. Snow blanketed her driveway, and her police cruiser was covered in snow. Although, the black of the asphalt on the street was still visible.

Percy's eyes had enough of the blinding light, so she turned away and drowsily walked to the door of her bedroom. As she placed her palm on the handle she remembered something... Ramsey had laid next to her on the bed and slept there, or at least she presumed so... and also may've hoped so a bit. When Percy turned around her bed held nothing but disappointment and loneliness. There was, in fact, no rat-man in her sheets.

Percy, a bit disappointed, turned back around and opened her door. The hallway was bleak and as she stepped out onto the soft carpet she could smell something delightful coming from downstairs. Percy sauntered down the stairs and followed the smell, as she hit the ground floor she noticed the kitchen light was on and could hear the sizzle of a pan. Percy turned the corner and saw Ramsey with an apron stood by the stove. She had never used her stove before since all she ate was bread and the occasional butter water, but Ramsey seemed to know what he was doing, and she liked seeing Ramsey work. Percy stepped onto the marble of the kitchen floor, Ramsey seemed to notice as he had turned around and smiled. Ramsey's smile was warm and sweet, Percy loved it. "Oh, eya' Percy! Jus' makin' some breakfast..." Ramsey nodded towards a plate carrying a perfectly round omelet on the kitchen counter. It looked delicious.

"Hello, Ramsey. Might I ask where you got those ingredients?"

Ramsey rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh well... I was gonna go out there myself and buy them but the cops would've thought I escaped or somethin', so I just called Oscar on your phone and he set me up with some eggs... And some cheese."

"That is quite satisfactory. Meryl often tells me about the meals Oscar makes her before work, he apparently makes and I quote... ' _Some damn good eggs_ '..." Percy sighed, "Truthfully I have not eaten eggs since I was 13. It'll be a pleasure eating them again..."

"13?" Ramsey started back on his eggs, "how old were you again?"

"I am currently 29 years of age as of today."

"29? Really?"

Percy furrowed her eyebrows, "Is that surprising?"

"No no no...!" Ramsey picked up a plate and set another perfectly round yellow omelet on the counter. "It's just you look a lot younger..."

"Fair enough."

"Well, your omelet's done..."

Percy nodded, "Thank you, Ramsey..." She picked up her plate from the counter and the savory smell assaulted her nostrils, it smelled so pleasant...

Ramsey handed her a plastic fork, "Here."

Percy took the fork and couldn't wait to even sit down. She cut the cheesy omelet and dug the fork into the piece, she lifted it into her mouth and it was utter delight. It tasted fantastic. The cheese melted in her mouth as it spread across her tongue, it tasted so good, and her face was one of pure bliss. 

Ramsey chuckled, "It's good isn't it?" 

Percy moaned in pleasure, "Ah, very..." Percy barely noticed Ramsey's face turn pink through her joy.

"Well uh, we should probably sit down and eat..." Ramsey says while picking up his plate.

"You uh make a fair point."

The two sat down on Percy's couch. Ramsey grabbed the remote to the T.V and started switching channels. Percy hadn't noticed her T.V was on when she first came downstairs. Ramsey stopped switching channels and ended on a show Percy didn't recognize, but she didn't pay much attention. 

"So how you feeling Perce'?"

"I am feeling fine Ramsey."

"Good good... Just worried about what happened last night." Ramsey stopped to take a bite of his omelet, "If you don't want to talk about it we don't have to, but I'd still recommend going to that therapist guy..."

" _Psychologist._ " Percy corrected Ramsey.

"...Psychologist whatever, the guy did give you that card so you can call him."

"You have a point." Percy thought about calling some time before at Dr. Martin's office, but she just started putting some stock into that idea. It wasn't long before she started back on her meal.

As Percy finished her omelet she noticed another envelope with the initials S.C on her coffee table. What could he possibly want... "Ramsey?"

"Hmm?"

Percy gave a side glance to the coffee table, which made Ramsey follow her gaze. When he saw the envelope he sighed. "Well, we might as well open it, see what the damn psycho wants."

Percy grabbed the letter and cut it open with her brother's knife. Luckily she had no emotional reaction.

It was obvious the letter was hastily written, with various little mistakes, but the handwriting was still strangely elegant as ever. Percy read it aloud: "Detective King... How much of a nunce are you? I know you are... special, and are not very good with people but what you are good at is your job. So why did you not arrest the gun store owner? He matched the thief's description! I am disappointed in you Detective. I know the police process is a little weird, but that just wasn't you. You'll need to be at your best for this case, as my employer only hires the best. Goodbye Detective."

"Well, I suppose he has a point. Though I am gonna beat the shit of 'im because he called you a dumbass."

"I don't think you'd survive that encounter, Ramsey..."

"Eh...? Oh yeah, true."

The two sat in silence, most likely in thought. The silence was interrupted as Percy sat up from the couch.

"I suppose we should head to the station, I am late after all."

"It's 7 AM... And Oscar's shift only starts until I think 8? When _do_ you usually get up?"

"My alarm is set to 5 AM Ramsey, it's good to always be early. "

"5 am? And all you eat for breakfast is plain bread!"

"I have the occasional buttered water on special occasions. " 

"You need to get some more sleep, but I can't stop you from going now."

"Very good. Follow me, Ramsey."

_________________________________

Percy exited her house with Ramsey in tow. 

Ramsey lazily smiled, "Nice scarf." 

"Thank you."

The two walked to Percy's cruiser and entered on the opposite sides. Percy started the car and backed out of her driveway. Luckily they did not get stuck in the snow. 

"So Mason's a smoker huh?"

Percy furrowed her eyebrow this came out of nowhere, "Yes...? Do you have a reason bringing this up in conversation?"

"No, not really... Oscar just told me when he was over."

"Alright..." '

 _Odd_ ' Percy thought. 

****

The duo entered the department and an argument could be heard from across the station. Oscar, to no one's surprise, and Mason were having a heated debate. Percy noticed Meryl did not like the noise.

"DIEHARD IS A CHRISTMAS A MOVIE!" Oscar yelled out.

"No, it's not! What's Christmas about it?" Mason dodged a trash can Oscar threw at him, "Really, someone has to clean that you know?"

"Hey look I'm trying to get my point across."

"How does throwing a trash can do that!"

"I-" Oscar stopped to think, "You have a point... But Die Hard is still a damn Christmas movie!"

"How is it a Christmas movie? I don't understand your thought process, you irresponsible, unpredictable fucking cheese grater!"

Oscar's reply to the odd insult was stopped by the slam of a door, which made the two freeze in place. Everyone in the station knew that sound, and who always accompanied it. An average-sized man with graying hair swung around one of the pillars "Welcome back Perce", his freshly trimmed white goatee shone in the light as he passed Percy. When the man reached the two he pinched his nose and sighed. "Ahright'... you two goons. Yer making too much noise and are interrupting others' work..." The man pointed at Mason with a disappointed look, "Mason, I expect much better from you, but it's Oscar so I'll give you a pass."

"Yes sir."

The man crossed his arms and turned to Oscar. "Oscar... This is par for the course, but how many times haf' I told you to stop getting into fights while in the station?"

"Um, I think... 5 times sir..."

"Then it should be ingrained into that thick ass brain of yours by now...! Now I have shit to sign, the Mayor wants a situational report on all of the current cases, have no idea why... You're dismissed."

"Yes, Cheif!" The two said in unison and walked away in opposite directions.

The Chief sighed and walked off back to his office grumbling. As he passed Percy she could hear him say, "Layla..."

Percy felt a tap on her shoulder when the man was back in his office, Ramsey looked a bit surprised.

" _That's_ the Chief of Police? Some grumpy old guy?"

"The Chief was not always like that... and he's not just some ' _old guy_ ', he's Chief John Keller, he is a legend among the police force here. When I first began as an officer he was my inspiration, I looked up to him and I still do."

"If _you_ look up to 'im, he must've done something impressive... What 'e do?"

"Well for starters, he became a Junior Detective at the age of 27, 32 years ago, not even 2 years out of the academy. When he was a Detective in 1990, John and his partner, Layla, discovered a massive smuggling ring in the Landon Gills Harbor. That smuggling ring was funded by some government officials and Chief Keller uncovered the corruption."

"All by themselves?"

"Indeed, John made a rash decision to go in without backup and destroyed it in all one day. When John arrived back at the station he was reprimanded and demoted but rose back up to in less than 3 months, which is almost impossible. Yet John did. After the harbor, he went on a grand escapade gathering evidence against many political officials and eventually forcing the current chief of police step down since he was aware of the ring before John found it. When John went before the previous Mayor and reported that the Chief had been forcibly stepped down, Mayor Quinn decided that democracy would be the best way to nominate a new Police Chief, and he gave every police officer in the Sweet Jazz Police force the option to vote. The Chief was well-liked and respected during his short but quick climb of the ranks, and by a unanimous vote, John Keller was elected Chief of Police and has remained as the Chief for the past 29 years." Percy stopped, "When I said he wasn't always like that..." She dropped her head, "Chief Keller lost his spouse 19 years ago... He married his old partner Layla and they had a child together... Layla and their 9-year-old were kidnapped and murdered in retaliation for John dismembering the smuggling ring and sniffing out the corrupted officials. John was furious and has never recovered since. We... sometimes find him crying in his office."

"Damn... He must have one overpowered epithet."

Percy placed her palm on her sword and turned to Ramsey, "Ramsey..."

"Yeah?"

"He's a Mundie..."

"Really? I was surprised when you told me Howie was but your boss did all that and is a damn Mundie?"

"Yes, he is quite impressive, but has fallen in grace recently." Percy was sad to see the legend get weaker and nobody knew why... "And it's not his physical condition, for a 59 year old man he is in perfect physique and health."

"He's 59?"

"Yes" Percy smiles... "He's a marvel isn't he..."

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is also very much welcome


End file.
